A Non-Solution: Bolton says Kiev must ‘seek alternatives to Russian gas’, but how?

US national security adviser John Bolton said on Friday that Ukraine should seek alternatives to Russian natural gas and might consider inviting foreign companies, including the United States, to exploit its own reserves.

According to Bolton, being “tied to a monopoly supplier” could have a “more than economic cost” for Ukraine.

“Why Europe would voluntarily tie itself even more to Russian energy supplies? One alternative there for Ukraine and for other countries is to look for other sources of natural gas,” Bolton said.

He suggested alternative suppliers such as Azerbaijan, Israel, “and a variety of other natural sources, including right here in Ukraine,” also emphasizing the US’s ability to export liquefied natural gas.

“There may be American or international energy companies that find it attractive to explore [gas] here in Ukraine,” Bolton added. Bolton omits the fact that the total reserves of Ukrainian gas have long been mapped out, and Ukraine ‘lost’ 4/5ths of its reserves when Crimea held a democratic referendum to leave Ukraine.

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Additionally, the cost of US sources to create the supply lines, and transport costs, would create a price regimen that would market most citizens out of the ability to stay warm in the winter.

This means in effect that Bolton has offered a non-solution. The reality here is that the U.S is involved in a long game, of depopulating Ukraine. The economic destruction wrought by the US deep-state came in several waves upon Ukraine – first the destruction of the USSR, then a series of color-revolutions, followed by an all-out coup in 2014.

Bolton also continued to say it was “important from the political point of view” that Kiev seek alternative sources to end its dependence on Russia. This part seems to be the essence of the equation.

Bolton’s remarks come amid widespread US opposition to the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. Washington claims that the bill will result in European dependence on Russian gas.

In late June, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the White House is trying to persuade its European partners to abandon the development of the pipeline.

Nord Stream 2, a joint venture between Russian energy giant Gazprom, France’s Engie, Austrian OMV AG, Britain’s Royal Dutch Shell and Germany’s Uniper and Wintershall, is set to begin operations by the end of 2019.

Paul Antonopoulos is a Research Fellow at the Center for Syncretic Studies. He has an MA in International Relations and is interested in Great Power Rivalry as well as the International Relations and Political Economy of the Middle East and Latin America.